The invention is directed to a room air conditioner and more particularly to a room air conditioner having dual, louvered air discharge openings. Room air conditioners generally have an air inlet and an air outlet at a front side of the air conditioner which faces the interior of the room when the air conditioner is positioned in a window opening or in a through-the-wall sleeve. Usually warm air is drawn in through a central portion of the front panel to pass through a filter and through the evaporator coil to be cooled and then is directed by a blower or fan to an outlet or outlets, also in the front panel. The outlet may be a single opening positioned either along a top or bottom edge of the front panel or may be a single opening positioned at one side or the other of the front panel. Occasionally the air from the blower is directed into a manifold type box or plenum chamber and from that chamber it is allowed to exit through the front of the air conditioner through more than one opening. For example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,472,149, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, air is drawn into the air conditioner unit through a lower front grill portion and is redelivered to the room through a grill portion which extends along the top edge of the air conditioner.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,737,788, air is drawn in from a front lower grill opening, through a filter and the air is pressurized by a fan mounted in a manifold chamber or plenum from which air is permitted to exit through two spaced grills. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,094 air is drawn in through a front grill, is pressurized by a fan and exits through a grill 30 located at a bottom edge of the front panel. FIGS. 1 and 2 of that patent illustrate prior art constructions of top and side return of cooled air to the room.
The use of a manifold plenum chamber or similar structure requires an extra space in the air conditioner thereby reducing the compactness of the air conditioner and adding to bulkiness. Also such a structure requires extra parts and weight, thus increasing the costs and complexity of manufacturing. Oftentimes, particularly when the air outlet is positioned on a single side of the air conditioner, the air is drawn into the air conditioner evaporator coil in an off-center fashion thereby reducing the efficiency of the air conditioner.
Air outlet openings are occasionally provided with directional controls which may be in the form of louvered members. U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,376 discloses the use of a plurality of louvered discharge members which are mountable into and removable from an air conditioner and which pivot about a vertical axis to provide a range of directional air flows. The individual louvers, however, are stationary within the members.
U.S Pat. No. 3,257,931 discloses a louvered air outlet assembly wherein the louvers are pivotable about both a horizontal and vertical axis. The louvers are also powered such that they will continuously rotate during operation so that the chilled air will be directed in a sweep pattern horizontally and vertically.